Vanderbilt Commodores 72, St. Mary's Gaels – 11/20/09

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Yeesh, that was close. In a game full of streaky play, St. Mary's missed a 3 at the buzzer to fall to the 'Dores 72-70. Vanderbilt rallied from an 8-point 1st Half deficit to lead by a point at halftime. Coach Stallings played 11 in the half trying to find a lineup that get things started. This team has great depth. Vandy opened the 2nd Half with a 17-4 run, only to be answered by a 13-2 run by the Gaels. Now is a good enough time as any to mention that Omar Samham from St. Mary's is a beast. Samham went for 25 points, 18 rebounds, and was a defensive presence the entire night. He and sharpshooter Matthew Dellavedova almost won the game by themselves. The Commodores held a 5-6 point lead for the majority of the 2nd Half. The most discouraging thing from the game was the Commodore's free throw shooting in the final 90 seconds. Jermaine Beal, Steve Tchiengang, and Brad Tinsley combined for a scary 1-6 from the line to close out the game. Jeffery Taylor had a brain lapse in the final seconds, which allowed the Gaels an open shot for the win. St. Mary's had every opportunity to win. Overall, this was a clutch win for the team. As Stallings said in his post-game radio show, this win will look very good at the end of the year.

Here are a few quick thoughts about the 5 Commodores that stood out to me:

Jeffrey Taylor

Taylor was the clear choice for player of the game. The radio guys kept saying that nobody on the court for the Gaels could guard him. He ended up with 19/7/2 and went 6-12 from the floor. It's hard not to keep getting more and more excited about him. You can hear Stallings get excited when he's talking about him. He dunked a few times tonight that almost gave the radio guy a stroke.

A.J. Ogilvy

When I wrote the last game recap, I thought I was being hard on the big Aussie. I was excited to hear what the radio guys from Vandy would say about him tonight. Well here's a list of things I wrote down as the game went on: "flat-footed, non-factor, giving them absolutely nothing tonight" When Festus Ezeli fouled out late in the game, Vandy announcer said Stallings should put in Tchiengang. No offense to Steve, but you NEVER want to hear that if your AJ. When AJ came back into the game with about 3:30 left to play, here's what transpired in 4 possessions: took an apparent horrible shot, abused on defense, non-factor, had to foul on defense. Stallings pulled him quickly. Is it bad to say that I hope he is still having problems from the concussion? If not, he is regressing. I'm expecting a lot in Maui.

John Jenkins

The freshmen played some key minutes in the 2nd Half. He hit a huge shot to stop a Gaels run midway through the period; then nailed a huge 3 under 6 minutes to give the 'Dores a 6-point lead. He had 7 points on 3-6 shooting in 18 minutes. I think we're all watching him closely and he's impressed me so far.

Andre Walker

There was a compelling story written this week about the tragedy that Walker went through last season. (Read it here) Afterword, it's hard not to really root for this kid. He had a fantastic game, finishing with an efficient 14 points on 6-8 shooting. It seemed like Vandy was just hanging on in the 1st, but Walker soon changed things. He jump started the Commodores in the 2nd Half with 8 quick points and put the Gaels on their heels.

Jermaine Beal

Leading by 3 with 90 seconds to play, Beal headed to the line for a 1/1. Last year Beal shot 82% from the line in SEC conference games, so you had the best guy for the job at the stripe. Our floor general, senior leader, you expected him to step up and make the contest a two possession game. Instead he missed the front end and gave St Mary's a chance to tie. Beal was fantastic otherwise. He had 16 points on the night and a few plays that really got the radio crew going. Even though Tinsley led the team with 8 assists, Beal seemed to get other players involved just as effectively.

You have to be impressed with a team that goes on the road and wins in a hostile environment. Especially when the game finishes at 12:30am Vandy time. Now it's time to go to Maui and have a chance to play on a national stage. ESPN2, here we come!
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